Thunder @ Suns 2026 Playoffs Monday Game 4 Thread, 4-27-2026

[Chaplin]

Not true. Gillespie is a much more reliable passer than Booker.

Nah. There's not much evidence of that.

Ironically, our best passer is probably Oso.

 

[Mainstreet]

Book with 2 points at the half letting everyone get theirs and still ends up points leader in the whole team but yeah he’s terrible GTFOH … Book isn’t the reason we don’t compete with these guys, size is! Not having Goody and Mark was a huge problem not to mention those are probably our 2 best rebounders, also missed Allen for much of the series. So an unhealthy first year squad against the deepest team in the league and defending champs and we didn’t embarrass ourselves really… need to address the size and depth with size this offseason.

Yeah, Booker can score at will.

It would be nice if he was not the constant target of double teams and free to do what he does best.

 

[djm75]

Nah. There's not much evidence of that.

Ironically, our best passer is probably Oso.

Here’s Ast, TO, Ratio per 48 minutes in regular season:

Gillespie: 7.8/2.6/3
Booker: 8.6/4.5/1.9
Oso: 4.9/2.7/1.8

And in playoffs:

Gillespie: 6.3/1.7/3.7
Booker: 6.0/5.0/1.2
Oso: 6.0/2.6/2.3

 

[Superbone]

I am going to keep saying it. Book cannot be your “Superstar” #1 on the floor or your payroll.

That's helpful. Repetition is fun to read. Especially when almost every single person agrees with the statement. But getting to hear it over and over and over again makes it much more fun to watch a basketball game and root for your team. Thanks for your service. Maybe you could repeat it every day of the off-season to make the time go by faster until the next season starts up again at which point you could say it multiple times throughout every game thread every time Booker makes a mistake or passes up an open shot.

 

[Superbone]

nooooooooo no more basketball

Yep, it's a bummer. It was a fun year. Thanks for being a part of making it even more enjoyable!

Here's to an even better next season!

 

[Superbone]

Book with 2 points at the half letting everyone get theirs and still ends up points leader in the whole team but yeah he’s terrible GTFOH … Book isn’t the reason we don’t compete with these guys, size is! Not having Goody and Mark was a huge problem not to mention those are probably our 2 best rebounders, also missed Allen for much of the series. So an unhealthy first year squad against the deepest team in the league and defending champs and we didn’t embarrass ourselves really… need to address the size and depth with size this offseason.

There are definitely ways we could better maximize Booker's talents. Let's get back to him primarily being a scorer. We need a strong point guard. We've already seen that work all the way to the Finals. Get him some protection. Big guys/enforcers. Here's to hoping BG and crew have some plans to make this happen. I love Book and his dedication to this team and Arizona but him being the primary ball handler obviously isn't the way forward. He needs to be put in his best position to succeed and this obviously wasn't it.

 

[Superbone]

Shooting guards shoot in the low 30%s is unacceptable. Green is still young and can mature with time, he's been out for most of season. But Book has no excuse there.

It felt like OKC hit every three they took. Also every two. And the rare times they missed, they would get the rebound and score anyway. You can't win like that. We couldn't afford hardly any misses but like you said, low 30% and below will rarely cut it and it's amazing that we somehow kept it as close as it was in spite of it.

But give OKC credit. They're the defending champs for a reason and I'd be very surprised if they didn't repeat.

 

[Phrazbit]

Not true. Gillespie is a much more reliable passer than Booker.

This position is unsupported by any statistical measure.

I like him a lot, but he’s a backup. Much of the 2nd half of the year he really struggled.

 

[AzStevenCal]

This position is unsupported by any statistical measure.

I like him a lot, but he’s a backup. Much of the 2nd half of the year he really struggled.

I'm hoping that his mid and late season inconsistent play was mostly due to the hand or shoulder injuries he'd suffered. And while I don't know that I'm right about CG not being 100%, I'm pretty sure the Front Office knows the truth. I have to believe that, if December CG is the real CG, we're going to lock him up. And if not, we'll keep him cheap or let him walk.

 

[Mainstreet]

Shai giving Dillon Brooks some love.

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[Mainstreet]

This position is unsupported by any statistical measure.

I like him a lot, but he’s a backup. Much of the 2nd half of the year he really struggled.

That's where Gillespie should be getting his minutes, off the bench. He needs athletes around him though to help spread the court because he is not super athletic.

 

[Cheesebeef]

There are definitely ways we could better maximize Booker's talents. Let's get back to him primarily being a scorer. We need a strong point guard. We've already seen that work all the way to the Finals. Get him some protection. Big guys/enforcers. Here's to hoping BG and crew have some plans to make this happen. I love Book and his dedication to this team and Arizona but him being the primary ball handler obviously isn't the way forward. He needs to be put in his best position to succeed and this obviously wasn't it.

The question is how can you get a great PG and Big Guys/Enforcerts with the limited resources we have available? And if you can’t, do you just put a blindfold on and ignore the alternative?

 

[Adrian]

PHNX Suns

@PHNX_Suns
·
36m


"They were calling out every single one of our plays, immediately." Oso shares what he learned from the Thunder players in this series with OKC.

 

[Cheesebeef]

PHNX Suns
@PHNX_Suns
·
36m


"They were calling out every single one of our plays, immediately." Oso shares what he learned from the Thunder players in this series with OKC.

oy.

 

[Superbone]

The question is how can you get a great PG and Big Guys/Enforcerts with the limited resources we have available? And if you can’t, do you just put a blindfold on and ignore the alternative?

The first question is a good question. And I don't know the answer. Hopefully BG and crew do. And to your last question, of course you don't "just put a blindfold on". Is that even a serious question? I think not. And please tell me who's going to trade for that 5 year, $316 MILLION dollar contract. Detroit is the only thing I could possibly see make sense and even then, they would be foolish to do so.

 

[Cheesebeef]

The first question is a good question. And I don't know the answer. Hopefully BG and crew do. And to your last question, of course you don't "just put a blindfold on". Is that even a serious question? I think not. And please tell me who's going to trade for that 5 year, $316 MILLION dollar contract. Detroit is the only thing I could possibly see make sense and even then, they would be foolish to do so.

Why not the Knicks, Houston or Philly? They all make repeatedly questionable swing for the fences moves. I think there's more possible suitors out there than people think.

 

[djm75]

This position is unsupported by any statistical measure.

Are you serious? I posted the stats five posts above yours.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Are you serious? I posted the stats five posts above yours.

Except that passing and turnover rate aren't exactly the same. Devin can be one heck of a turnover machine but a lot of them have nothing to do with his passing ability. But if your argument is simply that we'd be better off without Devin at the point, I agree.

 

[Phrazbit]

Except that passing and turnover rate aren't exactly the same. Devin can be one heck of a turnover machine but passing is not involved in all of them.

And Gillespe is typically playing with Booker absorbing a ton of attention.

Booker turns it over too much, he has not been confident in his shooting, but when he was off the court our offense was awful, all year long.

 

[AzStevenCal]

And Gillespe is typically playing with Booker absorbing a ton of attention.

Booker turns it over too much, he has not been confident in his shooting, but when he was off the court our offense was awful, all year long.

Our offense was fine until just about every rotation player ended up with an injury or a seasonal ailment. Most of them were only out short term but CD was never the same after his injury and Goodwin plus Williams had only occasional availability for the rest of the season. Booker was playing like a true star early on in large part due to the presence of so many weapons. But without Williams or someone similar, he should not be our primary ballhandler.

 

[Phrazbit]

Our offense was fine until just about every rotation player ended up with an injury or a seasonal ailment. Most of them were only out short term but CD was never the same after his injury and Goodwin plus Williams had only occasional availability for the rest of the season. Booker was playing like a true star early on in large part due to the presence of so many weapons. But without Williams or someone similar, he should not be our primary ballhandler.

He's a good point guard but an elite shooting guard and, unfortunately, he hasn't gotten to play shooting guard much over the last few years. The Olympics might be the last time it was actually his true role in a lineup.

Ideally, Collin is kept, continues to grow and gets more consistent.

 

[djm75]

Except that passing and turnover rate aren't exactly the same.

Yeah I see what you mean. It would be cool to have a TO stat that counts only “bad pass” turnovers.

 

[djm75]

Who is the Suns season + / - leader?

Not Booker. He only leads in total +/- which does not tell the whole story considering that he plays a ton of minutes. The season leader in +/- per munutes played is actually Flemingo.

 

[Covert Rain]

Kind of a crazy thing to say considering we made the playoffs and were pretty much the 6th seed for the entire season. "Really" bad? Come on CR.

Bad from the perspective we are not making any playoff runs with this roster. Is it better? Sure, but the lack of size etc. was glaring. So, was the mix of our roster. I am not convinced there can be a consistent offensive flow with Book, Jalen and Brooks the way he has fallen in love with this shot. IMO, it just doesn't fit. Who knows maybe Ott can muster some of that 1st half of the season magic and get it to work.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

PHNX Suns
@PHNX_Suns
·
36m


"They were calling out every single one of our plays, immediately." Oso shares what he learned from the Thunder players in this series with OKC.

Wow. That’s troubling that they were so apparent. Or else that OKC team has the best set of prep staff and dedicated players study of the entire league. Probably both.